How YOU doin’?

Greetings awesome sound techs! Today’s post will be some simple introductions, but before I get to that, I just want to wholeheartedly thank you for what you do. Running sound is tough – a lot tougher than anyone who has never run sound before realizes! I can think of Sundays over the past few years where each of us has run a mix that was so brilliant – so beautiful to listen to – that it likely made the rest of us envious. Candidly, as I’m trying to figure out how we can achieve such brilliance every Sunday, I’m struggling to identify what, exactly, makes one Sunday so much stronger than another. The truth is I don’t know, but I do know that when you hit a strong Sunday, at least one thing is guaranteed – you were giving it your all. You were part of a team of musicians, vocalists, and fellow techies who were all at the top of their game. And that’s why, as we move into the new space, I know our potential – we’re capable of greatness, and I’m proud to be part of such a dedicated and talented team. Thank you!

Now I’d like to introduce you to a couple friends of mine. The first you may have already met – the Yamaha M7CL digital console we’ll be using in the new space. Lisa, one of the amazing administrative staff members at newhope, produced some nicely bound hard copies of the M7’s manual for you. I’ll have copies with me on Sunday – stop by and get yours and dig in! I read through the first four chapters last night and I gotta say, it’s not nearly as intimidating as you’d imagine from a 282-page owner’s manual! It actually feels a bit like an analog board, which I like, but with some impressive features I’ve never seen in an analog console! I’d get into them, but that would spoil the surprise!

Second, meet the Allen and Heath MixWizard WZ3 16:2 (sorry, no hardcopy, but the user guide is available here). You’ll want to get acquainted with this rather quickly, since it’s the board we’ll be using at Garrett Road until the move, as CPM has extracted nearly all our old gear and moved it to Jarred and Amy Lynn’s spaces in the new building. It’s quite similar to the GL3300 you and I have grown to love, just with fewer channels and no subgroups, mute groups, or matrices. In the coming weeks, I’ll be around on Thursdays and Sundays to show you around the new board and offer an extra set of hands during rehearsal.